What real changes can we expect from the Synod on Synodality? How is the Vatican responding to the rapidly expanding war in the Middle East? And who is rumored to succeed Pope Francis? Colleen Dulle and Gerard O'Connell tackle your burning questions in a special mailbag episode of “Inside the Vatican.”

With Pennsylvania widely considered the most crucial of the seven 2024 swing states and America feeling stuck in a winter of discord haunted by the specter of political violence, I decided to report on the election from Punxsutawney.

Francis has revolutionized the College of Cardinals by passing over large archdioceses like Los Angeles, Venice and Milan in favor of picking men from the peripheries who reflect his pastoral orientation and concern for the poor. 

A Reflection for Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time, by Eric Gregory

The violence has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent victims, but it also “struck a profound blow to the common feeling of belonging to the Holy Land, to the consciousness of being part of a plan of Providence.”

On “Preach” this week, Father John Unni reflects on his homily from three years ago. “I like what that guy is saying, but I find it even more challenging,” he says. “I’m wrestling with these readings in a different way, a deeper way.”

Charles "Dismas" Clark, S.J., made caring for prisoners his life's work—a ministry memorialized in 1961’s “The Hoodlum Priest."

In a letter on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks in the Middle East, Pope Francis calls for an end to conflict and a dialogue of peace.

One year after Oct. 7, we live amid a stunning increase in antisemitism. Never in my nearly 40 years as a rabbi have I heard so many expressions of despair from the Jewish community. Never have I come so close to it myself.

On the anniversary of Oct. 7, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, I do not want to talk about peace or forgiveness. But the Synod on Synodality asks me to anyway.

The study groups are investigating questions such as how to improve seminary education, ministry to LGBTQ Catholics and possible ministry roles for women in the Catholic Church.

A Reflection for the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, by Simcha Fisher

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals on December 8, 20 of whom can vote for a new pope. Among them are Frank Leo, archbishop of Toronto, and Timothy Radcliffe, former master of the Dominicans.

As we approach the anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, ‘America’ takes a look back at our coverage of the conflict as it unfolded.

The fruits of each glorious mystery are listed as follows: faith, hope, wisdom, devotion to Mary and the grace of a happy death. Slowly but surely, I could see them playing out in my own life.

"All That Breathes" links environmental degradation with the degradation of human beings.

As the first superior general of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius wrote a book in which he described the Society’s mission, internal structures and way of proceeding.

President Biden's new restrictions on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border have drawn criticism from Catholics who minister to immigrants and refugees.

I approach Jason Reitman’s just released film, “Saturday Night,” with equal parts suspicion and an unwarranted sense of proprietorship.

Bolstered by extensive research and passionate prose, 'In the Shadow of Freedom' makes a compelling argument for Catholics in particular to pay more heed to reconciliation and healing for the racist history of the United States.